1-121 A surprising turn of events

Jaina used her powers to entertain a nearby group of players to keep them out of harm's way. She was doing all she could to put her charms to use and steer any would-be hero's out of the running street battle. Roric was tense and growing more irritated by the minute as they worked their way down the street to find this second location that was part of the rogue's hideout.

Thankfully, Rajeen's girls were helping by blocking off major lanes and explaining to the people that they were not under attack by monster players. They explained that the local rogues had kidnapped a prominent woman from a nearby kingdom because they mistook her for somebody else. All they were doing was trying to recover the woman, but the rogues had chosen to fight it out instead of talking.

This tactic was working for the most part, but some players were slipping in through back doors and alleyways. Those that did manage to confront the group were being seduced or put to sleep. Roric asked Breanne to restrain her attacks as her rampage was what was causing the most uproar. Banshee wails and arrows of shadow had a way of drawing unwanted attention. Bodies already lay in the street, and the lingering effect of shadow spells was still visible. Anyone who came to investigate could not be blamed for thinking that something was terribly wrong.

“This got out of control fast,” Chandice said as they carefully approached what appeared to be an old player dwelling.

“I overreacted,” Breanne admitted. “I could have gone invisible and slipped in quietly to find her, but I lost myself.”

“Nobody blames you,” Roric insisted as he spotted three people coming out of a nearby alleyway. One of them raised a sword and shouted that he had found the monster players before a very naked Gisley landed before them. Her sudden appearance and state of undress took them all by surprise right before she blew a handful of glitter in their faces. They hit the ground safely asleep and were quickly given pleasant dreams to keep them occupied.

“Let’s hope the sex fairy doesn’t run into anyone who can’t be put to sleep,” Chandice remarked as she stepped over a body of a woman that had been killed by Breanne.

“Oh, Frank should never have trusted me with this task,” Breanne complained. “I wasn’t ready for such a responsibility.”

“Hey, don't say that,” Jaina urged and took her hand. “I think it's wonderful that he chose you to be her protector. You're like our Evalynn, the strong one who knows how to deal with dangers. Yes, you could have dealt with this more tactfully, but you were overcome with worry.”

“I think she handled it well,” Evalynn said and gave Breanne a smile. “I always prefer to charge in start tearing things up.”

“That’s because you are a melee brawler,” Chandice commented. “Breanne had a lot of other options that included stealth.”

“None of that is important right now,” Roric cut in as they approached the building they were looking for to find it unusually quiet. “What we need to do right now is try to establish a dialog. I will approach the door with Gisley and see if they will talk. Breanne, you slip in unnoticed, find her, and bring her out. The rest of you hang back and watch for a surprise attack.”

“I don’t like this plan,” Jaina remarked. “Breanne is every bit as easy to reset as I am, and you are sending her in alone.”

“She can walk through walls,” Roric pointed out. “If she gets into trouble, she can escape easily, unlike the rest of us.”

“Let's not forget we are dealing with Alexandria,” Chandice reminded. “If she has these rogues under her spell, they may not be willing to talk. And she may already have discovered how important Hannah is to us and decide to use her as a bargaining chip.”

“All the more reason to create a distraction at the door while Breanne uses her powers to slip Hannah away to safety,” Roric said.

With no further arguments, they went to move, only for the front doors to come open. To everyone's surprise, a woman with long golden hair and dark curled horns walked out, holding the hand of a dangerous-looking man.

“Umm, is that Hannah?” Chandice asked as they watched more than a dozen men and women file out behind her, walking as if nothing was out of place. Hannah smiled widely as she stood before the building and quickly called for everyone to stop fighting. She then waved to them as if beckoning them to come over and join the party.

“What am I seeing?” Jaina asked in confusion.

“Just follow me and keep your eyes open,” Roric said and stalked closer, his hands firmly gripped on his spear. Something was very strange about this situation, particularly with Hannah, who seemed perfectly calm. Breanne broke ranks and rushed ahead, coming to Hannah and quickly asking if she was alright.

“Are those rogues?” Gisley asked as they drew near enough to hear Hannah say she was fine.

“Why is that man holding her hand?” Evalynn asked as Jaina started to smile. Hannah went to introduce the man but stumbled on his name. He introduced himself as Thurgis, the leader of the rogues guild, as if delighted to meet them all.

“They were just helping me find the way out so I could tell you I was fine,” Hannah insisted.

“You're fine?” Breanne asked as her gaze fell on their clasped hands. Hannah noticed the sudden interest and snatched her hand away, smiling at Breanne as if to suggest nothing was wrong. Thrugis didn't seem at all bothered by her sudden action and asked if she would like to have a drink with him later. Jaina, Gisley, and Evalynn shared a confused glance as Breanne demanded to know why these rogues were suddenly being so nice to Hannah.

Hannah blushed with a nervous smile before averting her gaze to Jaina. Chandice and Jaina burst into laughter as they realized why the men were being so nice. She could hardly believe that Hannah had been so bold and daring, but the evidence was right before them.

“Oh, how am I going to explain this to Frank?” Roric groaned and rolled his eyes as Gisley finally caught on and, with a joyful squeal, accused Hannah of having seduced them all.

“She’s better at this than Jaina,” Gisley laughed.

“She does seem to be remarkably good at it,” Evalynn agreed. “Perhaps she finally found her true purpose.”

“Will you all stop talking,” Hannah insisted and nervously faced Breanne. She explained that she only did it to end the conflict and avoid more bloodshed. Breanne demanded to know if Hannah had done anything more physical, and Hannah firmly insisted that she hadn’t.

“The lady promised to ask her master if we can spend the night together,” Thurgis said.

“She did, did she?” Breanne growled as she turned her gaze to Hannah.

“She said she would reward all of us personally,” another rogue added as Breanne’s gaze intensified.

“She’s so lovely,” one of the women said. “I wish I could have a lock of her hair.”

“Are those people drunk?” Evalynn asked as they noticed they were behaving strangely.

“I don't know, but this is strange behavior, even for somebody who is seduced,” Jaina agreed. “They almost seem like they are sleepwalking.” They nodded in agreement as Breanne asked Hannah why she offered to have sex with the rogues. Hannah swung her tail around, holding it in both hands as if to hide behind it. She tried to explain that she had just gotten into the role and ran with it, letting her imagination go.

“I was ordered to keep you safe,” Breanne scolded as the group went on about how lovely Hannah was. “That includes erotic interludes with strange men.”

“Some of them are women,” Heather pointed out as Breanne stepped closer.

“The point is, I am not going to tell Frank you were soiled under my watch,” Breanne insisted. “And I love you too much to let that happen.”

“But she’s such a good Lilim,” Gisley teased. “He should let her play.”

Jaina wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment, but Frank was possessive of his girls. She didn't think he was ready to start using Hannah as a proper sex slave. Maybe with some time and a little encouragement, he might see the fun in testing her loyalty, but right now, a hot steamy gang bang with the entire rogues guild was probably out. Funnily, Breanne folded her arms and announced that if Frank wanted to let Hannah fuck the rogues, it was fine, but she wanted to hear that directly from him first.

Hannah begged her to stop saying things like that and insisted she only made that offer because she knew Frank would never agree to it. She felt safe in her assumption, but Jaina began to dream of the look on Hannah's face if Frank surprised her and told her yes. Breanne seemed to feel the same way as she challenged Hannah by saying she hoped Frank made her do it. She felt Hannah could learn a little more caution by being forced to spend the night fulfilling those promises.

Jaina and the others struggled not to laugh as the two broke into an argument. Hannah accused her of being ridiculous and insisted she had to say something to use her charms. She told them she knew all about Breanne's rampage and felt awful that things had gotten so out of control. So she used her seductions and played up the role to ensure she got outside as fast as possible. All she wanted to do was bring an end to the violence before it got worse. The argument ended with a hug as Breanne smiled, and the two came together before the crowd.

“Do we look so beautiful when we hug?” Gisley asked.

“You all look like angels when you hug,” Roric said.

“Then we must be doing it wrong,” Jaina laughed. “Because we are far from it.”

Hannah and Breanne suddenly parted and stood nervously together as they looked beyond Roric and his girls to something behind them. Jaina turned around to see that Frank was here with Blackbast at his side. He had come in his massive ghoul form, but thankfully he hadn't brought an army. He stepped out of the shadows on an alley and strode directly for his girls as Roric bowed his head and tried to apologize for what had happened.

“Frank,” Roric began as the hulking mass approached. “I am very sorry this happened. I never expected this kind of trouble.”

“We can talk about it later,” Frank replied as he approached the two girls. He stopped before them as Heather smiled and tried to look innocent. Her tail came back up, and she held it nervously as she asked why he was here.

Frank seemed agitated but under control as he explained that he had come because she was kidnapped. He brought Blackbast with him because he knew she could track the collar around Hannah's neck and lead him right to her.

“Oh, why didn't we think of that?” Jaina asked as the obvious solution presented itself. They all knew that Roric could track them thanks to the collars, so why had it never occurred to them to send for Blackbast?

“We all panicked and overreacted,” Chandice said.

“We did,” Roric agreed. “We were prepared for every eventuality except for the one where we lose Hannah.”

“All I was thinking was how would we explain this to Frank,” Evalynn admitted.

“Frank is so smart,” Gisley added. “No wonder he and Heather get along.”

Hannah echoed that sentiment as she pointed out his idea was clever. She then shrank back as Blackbast swept an arm to indicate the street full of carnage and demanded to know what was going on.

Jaina watched Hannah struggle to explain as she nervously played with her tail. She started with the kidnapping and how the woman didn’t realize she had the wrong person until Hannah was tied to a chair. She then seemed to breeze over her escape, citing she used a few teensy seductions to win their trust and escape.

“Do you think he’s mad?” Gisley whispered to Jaina as the explanation went on.

“I can't tell,” Jaina whispered as Frank asked Hannah to clarify that she had seduced them. Hannah suggested that all she did was make them more friendly, but her moment was spoiled when Thurgis asked if she needed help dispatching the monster.

“What? No!” Heather said as she turned to the rogues. “This is my master, Prince Frank.”

The looks on their faces were of pure excitement as Thurgis stepped forward and bowed slightly.

“Your slave is beautiful with a voice of gold and eyes full of magic,” he said. “I would be honored if you would consider our request.”

“What request?” Blackbast asked as Heather hid her face behind the tip of her tail.

“Oh, goodness,” Jaina said under her breath. “I can’t wait to hear her explain this.”

“Umm, I sorta promised them I would ask my master if I could play with them,” Heather replied as she peeked over her tail.

Jaina, Evalynn, Gisley, and Chandice all broke into giggling laughter as Heather tried to confuse the true meaning of her words. She said play, but what she meant was fuck, and Frank obviously hadn't been confused by her choice of words.

“Girls,” Roric said as he shook his head at them. “This is no laughing matter.”

“I'm sorry,” Jaina said, struggling to get a hold of herself. “But I never thought I would hear her say something like that to Frank.”

Frank flexed his dangerous hands as he silently turned his gaze on Breanne. The banshee woman shrank under that glare and tried to apologize for losing Heather in the first place. Frank raised a hand to motion her to silence as Blackbast took over, standing before Hannah with her tail twitching irritably.

“You promised to have sex with the entire rogues guild?” Blackbast asked, her tail flying in obvious anger.

“Only because I was trying to sway them to my side,” Hannah insisted. “I knew Frank would never agree to something like that, so it was a safe thing to offer.”

Jaina agreed with that assessment, but oh, how she wished to see the look on Hannah's face if he said yes. She mused that thought over for just a moment when Blackbast walked up to Thurgis and snapped a finger in his face.

“Sway them?” Blackbast asked as she kept snapping, getting no response from the love-drunk rogue. She then reached up and poked him in the cheek, causing him to turn his head a little, but otherwise, he was placid.

“Something is wrong,” Roric said as they watched the display.

“Something is very wrong,” Jaina replied. “These people aren't seduced; they're dominated.”

“Can her class do that?” Evalynn asked.

“She hasn’t shared any of it with me except for a few basic seductions,” Jaina replied with a shrug. “For all I know, she can do this and more.”

Blackbast declared the men to be charmed and incoherent before going to the other rogues to wave her hand or even shout at them. None of them seemed to care what she was doing so long as they could see Hannah.

“What did you do to them?” Blackbast demanded as she turned on Hannah.

“Umm, seductive smile?” Heather offered as more of a question than a statement.

“My smile never has that kind of effect,” Jaina said as she looked at Gisley and Evalynn. “Have you ever known any of my men to be so hopelessly bound?”

“No, this is crazy,” Evalynn agreed. “Maybe the Lilim’s version is stronger?”

“The Lilim is supposed to be a more powerful version of the succubus,” Chandice interjected. “And from what we know, a succubus is a race-based seductress with a special mana pool. I doubt Hannah has domination skills, and even if she did, those are so hard to use. The visitors don’t allow you to use them to do anything that would cause a player lasting harm or regret.”

“I don’t think they are going to regret this,” Evalynn suggested. “I think they are hoping she will give them what she offered.”

“Never going to happen,” Chandice stated firmly.

“I agree,” Roric said. “Frank will never allow it, even with Blackbast’s encouragement.”

“So, how did she do this?” Gisley asked as Blackbast questioned her use of a seductive smile.

“I don't know,” Jaina replied. “But then Hannah has a tendency to break the rules.” They listened intently to learn the answer, and it came when Frank finally spoke up.

“You used essence, didn’t you?” he said.

“Umm,” Hannah said as she twisted. “Maybe a teensy bit,” she added as she made a pinching gesture with her fingers.

“You overpowered that charm with essence?” Blackbast growled as she rolled her eyes. “They will probably be like this for days. They won’t eat, sleep or respond to anything that isn’t a direct attack.”

“I’m sorry,” Heather insisted. “I was nervous, and I wanted to make sure it worked. I had no idea they were going to turn into adoring zombies.”

“Umm, is this the super magical stuff that allows Hannah to break the rules?” Chandice asked.

“Yes,” Frank said as he leaned over Heather to make her cringe.

“You know what essence is?” Jaina asked as she turned to Chandice.

“I told you I helped them explore that tunnel in the mountain,” Chandice reminded. “She did something that made her glow blue and surge with power. It was the most amazing display of raw energy I have ever seen anyone use. She used it to eat an undead construct away and cause its life to feed Frank, keeping him alive. When I asked about it later, she admitted to having a pool of energy called essence. Apparently, anyone who marries her also has it, but they can't seem to control it. When they use it, they pass out.”

“That’s even more unsettling,” Roric commented as Frank reminded Hannah that she was supposed to keep that power a secret. Hannah insisted that she got carried away in the heat of the moment and forgot. She seemed sorry, but Frank didn’t appear to be moved by her comments. Instead, he leaned closer, forcing Hannah to lean away from him as she smiled.

“So, you still want to be my slave girl?” he asked.

“Yes?” Hannah said with no conviction in her voice.

“And you will do anything I say?” he asked as he led her on.

“Oh, I wonder where this is going,” Jaina whispered as she dreamed of him telling Hannah to return to the rogues and give them what she promised. Hannah twisted in silence until Frank grew impatient and asked her again. Finally, she said yes, but with a slow, weak response.

“Good, because you're grounded,” he said, stepping back to allow her to stand properly.

“I’m grounded?” Hannah repeated in shock.

“You're grounded,” he insisted as he grabbed her arm and dragged her off. Breanne and Blackbast followed in his wake as Gisley and Evalynn struggled to smother their giggles with hands pressed firmly over their mouths. Chandice was all smiles while Hannah was one big sour frown. Jaina waved as they went by and called out to Frank to give him some creative advice.

“You should try spanking her while you're at it,” she said.

“I might try that,” he replied with a tone that said he meant it.

“You’re not helping!” Hannah shouted as they headed down the street to find the portal.

“I hope he spanks her,” Jaina said as she smiled at Roric.

“I don't know how you can be so calm in this situation,” Roric sighed as the stressful moment passed. “Frank showed great trust in us, and it led to him having to come and rescue his wife.”

“It wasn’t our fault,” Jaina insisted.

“No, this was dumb luck,” Chandice agreed. “Of the thousands of towns, and cities in the north, we just happened to arrive in the one Alexandria was hiding in. I mean, what are the odds of that happening in the first place? She must have been suspicious after her first encounter and ran back to enlist the help of the rogues. Then when she comes looking for us, she just happens to find Hannah pretending to be you. No, this was nobody's fault. It was as much our fault as being struck by lightning is.”

“Hmm, we have a smart blond, too,” Evalynn said as she approved of Candice's assesment.

“I have to agree,” Roric relented and ran a hand over his head. “But what do we do about the rogues? We can’t just leave them here in this state.”

“Well,” Chandice said as she considered the options. “I doubt I could dispel it, considering she boosted it with essence. So, we have three options. We leave and let the authorities deal with it. We attack them and cause the spell's safety to trigger and snap them out of it, or we finish it.”

“Finish it?” Gisley asked.

Chandice smiled and gestured to the rogues. “They are all super seduced. So all you need to do is finish what Hannah started and give them a little sex.”

“Oh,” Jaina said as she and Gisley started to smile. They looked at Roric, who didn't seem as happy with that solution as they were.

“You want me to allow you to play with the rogues while Alexandria is still about?” he asked.

“Well, maybe just the leader,” Jaina suggested. “Then he can deal with the rest in his own way.” She smiled and leaned into him while running a hand down his chest. “It would be cruel to leave them like this.”

“Oh, get it over with,” Roric sighed. “Evalynn and Gisley, go with her and make sure she's safe.”

“Aww, I want to play too!” Gisley insisted. “Please, master. Can I help free the rogues?”

“I have a harem full of whores,” Roric sighed and shook his head.

“Ha, it’s exactly what you wanted,” Jaina insisted.

“Let them go play,” Chandice said. “I will summon a devil guardian to help Evalynn and give them an hour to wake up as many as they can.”

“Fine,” Roric sighed, then focused on the two girls. “But you two are spending the rest of the night on a chain entertaining me.”

“Oh, I like where this is going,” Jaina said with a big smile as Gisley danced in place. She used her morphic power to change form and became a nearly identical copy of Hannah before taking Gisley by the hand. “Come, little slut, we have work to do.”

The girls went to the rogues, who were more than open to their suggestions, and one by one, they started breaking the seductions hold. Roric and Chandice waited outside with several of the harem girls until Rajeen returned with an escort of city guards. She informed them that the local authorities weren’t truly alarmed but didn't care for them, allowing a banshee to run wild in their city. Rajeen explained that the woman in question was a princess, and in the interest of avoiding a political confrontation, they agreed to help recover the girl. However, once recovered, they were to leave the city at once so that order could be restored.

Roric explained that Hannah was already free and well on her way home. He then explained the nature of her escape, the arrival of Frank, and the parting comments. Rajeen asked if he was angry, but Roric couldn't really say. All he could do was hope that this whole mess blew over quickly and they could resume hunting Idris. Likely there was no point in searching here, but they could try a town further south, hoping to catch her as she passed through.

The local guards took over crowd control and prevented any further player escalation of the incident. Roric spent his time explaining the issue with the wanted poster to Rajeen as the cat woman insisted this wasn't what she asked her agents to do. She promised to have it all changed so players knew that Idris wasn't an enemy but a missing friend. Roric was more concerned with the potential that Idris had seen the posters and was now actively avoiding players. If she was, it would make their job much harder and might require more effort. He pondered that thought for an hour when Jaina and Gisley returned with big smiles.

“Did you help the rogues?” Rajeen asked as they walked back to the portal.

“We helped all of them,” Gisley said. “They were very nice. One of them gave me a pretty statue.” She held up a small statue of a butterfly with golden wings and said it came from a woman who called herself Nystal. Rajeen smiled at the fairy woman and took them all back to the portal and away from the mess they had made.

“We failed to find her,” Roric said as they arrived safely at Rajeen’s inn.

“We will find her,” Rajeen insisted. “I will have all these posters changed and send messages to local mercenary and bounty hunter guilds that she is to be approached as a dear friend. I promise we will know something soon.”

Roric agreed, but not without some measure of guilt over the whole situation. All he could do was keep trying and pray that Idris loved the denial. One way or another, he would find her and free her from that belt. Then he would ask her forgiveness and offer her a place in his harem, where he would treat her well.

“So what do we do now?” Gisley asked.

“Hmm,” Roric said as he considered it and addressed Evalynn. “I think you deserve a reward for standing guard while Jaina and Gisley played with the rogues.”

“Oh?” Evalynn said with a smile. “I did that because you told me to.”

“And I appreciate how you obeyed,” Roric said, lifting her chin. “You are spending tonight on my lap as Jaina and Gisley entertain us.” He was pleased to see her smile and how she blushed to know where she would spend her love. He took them home to begin the entertainment but silently worried about what would come the next time he spoke to Frank.

Thank you so much for reading! I just now after hundreds of chapters discovered this ability to tack on a footer.Please consider the patreon as of course I would very much like to spend more time writing and less time chasing a dead end job. But if you can't or just don't want to, Please don't feel bad. I am glad you are here and reading my story!

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